carriers

Last fall's privacy flap over Carrier IQ, which makes diagnostic software embedded into millions of mobile phones, may spur federal legislation.

A draft House of Representatives bill (PDF) would give the Federal Trade Commission the power to regulate "monitoring software" that's capable of transmitting location data or other information about who's using the phone.

The FTC would have a year to require the disclosure of "the fact that the monitoring software is installed on the mobile telephone"--and, in addition, anyone installing the software would have to obtain the "express consent" … Read more

Apple's expansion to two additional carriers in China could bring in an extra 40 million iPhone buyers next year, according to a new analyst note.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty sent a note to investors yesterday (picked up by Apple Insider), suggesting that Apple this year will expand its mobile presence in China by making deals with China Telecom and China Mobile--the latter being the world's largest wireless carrier with about 650 million subscribers.

Huberty suggests Apple's next iPhone will be offered on both of those new networks, and with an estimated 20 percent of customers in … Read more

Sprint is making good on its promise to eliminate the controversial Carrier IQ software from devices on its network.

On Monday Android Central reported that the HTC EVO 3D, which runs on Sprint's network, will get a new firmware update that will wipe the Carrier IQ software from the device. HTC confirmed on Tuesday its move in a statement to The Verge. The company said that the maintenance software update would "remove Carrier IQ and provide security enhancements and bug fixes beginning in January."

CNET and others reported in December that Sprint said it would disable the software in devices running on its network. … Read more

PARIS--Free, a French company that already shook up the Internet service provider business here, just shook up the mobile phone service business, too.

Last week, Chief Executive Xavier Niel took to Twitter to announce a service plan that gets subscribers unlimited calls, unlimited text and picture messages, and data transfer of up to 3GB per month, after which download rates are throttled.

One big departure is the price: 20 euros per month, or $25.45. An even bigger departure: there's no long-term contract. And free international calls (though only to some countries, and not with cheap international roaming) … Read more

Sprint, which for weeks has defended its use of Carrier IQ software on mobile phones, is now disabling the software, a Sprint spokeswoman confirmed today.

"We have weighed customer concerns and we have disabled use of the tool so that diagnostic information and data is no longer being collected," spokeswoman Stephanie Vinge-Walsh said in a statement.

"We are further evaluating options regarding this diagnostic software as well as Sprint's diagnostic needs," the statement said. "At Sprint, we work hard to earn the trust of our customers and believe this course of action is in … Read more

A new version of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act was introduced this week but failed to satisfy critics and a vote ultimately got pushed off until at least Wednesday, but more likely 2012.

Many of Silicon Valley's most successful entrepreneurs and executives warned of the dangers of the SOPA in an open letter to Washington, D.C. It's signed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, among others. It's appearing as a paid advertisement in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other newspapers.

The … Read more

Carrier IQ executives have been on a steep learning curve in recent weeks since controversy erupted over their software, which carriers use to diagnose network problems but critics say invades user privacy.

Carrier IQ says the software--used by AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile--doesn't record keystrokes or the content of text messages. But Android developer Trevor Eckhart, who first disclosed the privacy issues, insists otherwise, and complains that consumers don't know the software is there and haven't given permission for the data sharing. A video he released appears to show Carrier IQ doing things the company and … Read more

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is investigating allegations that Carrier IQ software is being used by operators to track cell phone activity without user permission, The Washington Post reported today citing anonymous officials.

Andrew Coward, vice president of marketing at Carrier IQ, told CNET he could not say whether there was an official investigation or not but said he spent Monday and Tuesday in Washington, D.C., talking to officials from the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission and answering their questions.

"Investigation is probably too strong a word," he said. "We sought the meetings with … Read more

Carrier IQ has found itself amid a privacy controversy that it just can't escape. But that doesn't mean it isn't trying.

The company yesterday issued a wide-ranging document (PDF) summarizing its services in the hope of clearing up some of the concerns people have with its product. But whether critics will be satisfied with what they learn remains to be seen.

"In this document, we want to let consumers to know exactly what it is that our software does, the security measures we have in place, and our commitment through our software design and processes to … Read more